Germany’s biathlon hopeful Justus Strelow regularly writes for sport.de about his experiences in the World Cup. This time he reports on his recipe for success for Östersund and an ever-present sea monster.
Luckily I’m not afraid of monsters and monsters. That’s good, because here in Östersund, the venue of the next World Cup, a devilish sea monster is present on almost every corner. Storsjöodjuret, as the famous monster is called, is something like the Swedish variant of Nessie and, according to legend, its origins go back as far as 1635.
Trolls are said to have brewed a soup on the banks of Lake Storsjön and then it suddenly jumped out of the cauldron: Storsjöodjuret. Today you can look out for it from viewing platforms around Storjön, Sweden’s fifth largest lake. And in many shops in Östersund, tourists can buy a green plush variant.
Despite Storsjöodjuret, I only have good things to say about Östersund!
When I think of Östersund, I get rather pleasant showers. The place just suits me. I like the tranquil Swedish city with its 50,000 inhabitants. I like the slight slope, the almost endless expanse of nature, and the Scandinavian coastal flair on the shore of the big lake. As far as sport is concerned, I have good things to do with Scandinavia and especially with Östersund. After all, it’s the place where I’m starting at a World Cup for the third time now, more often than anywhere else – and so far always successfully.
At the end of the 2020/21 season I was able to celebrate my debut in the World Cup here and scored points twice. At the start of the following season we were back in Östersund and I was able to claim 13th place in the individual. And this week again Östersund.
Shoot slowly to shoot safely
So that all good things really come in threes this time too, I plan to consistently stick to my recipe for success in the races. Starting with the World Championships in Oberhof, I managed to consistently deliver races with top 20 placements. Most recently in Nove Mesto again: 16th place in the sprint and 17th place in the pursuit.
I want to continue this consistency, especially with good performances on the shooting range. There it is important for me to continue to work cleanly and accurately. And as absurd as it sounds at first glance: I have to force myself to slow down a bit! Shoot slowly to shoot safely. shot by shot.
I have to endure it internally when my series of shots doesn’t seem all that quick. Because objectively I can definitely rely on the fact that I have a good basic speed when shooting and therefore don’t have to stress myself out.
But where it leads if I push too hard, I felt in Pokljuka. I put too much pressure on myself there and focused too much on results that I really wanted to achieve.
I now appreciate what I have already achieved.
But now I appreciate what I’ve already achieved in my first full season in the World Cup and know that I simply have to stay true to myself in the races and use this strategy to achieve the best results in the end
If I can do that on my third assignment in Östersund, the small Scandinavian town would probably be one of my favorite places in the World Cup in the long run. And who knows: maybe Storsjöodjuret, Östersund’s ever-present sea monster, has a small part in my success as a good luck charm.
Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
Your Justus